PDP Accuses Buhari of Shielding Suspended NHIS Executive Secretary

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of shielding the suspended Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf.
Yusuf, who was on Friday suspended by the Board of the NHIS, has been fingered in various alleged corrupt practices, including the alleged siphoning of over N25bn from the coffers of the agency.
Despite the suspension order, Yusuf reported for work on Monday and was escorted into his office by a detachment of armed policemen.
In a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP accused the “Presidency cabal” of directly complicit in the alleged NHIS fraud and seeking every means to ensure a cover up.
The PDP recalled that the Executive Secretary was in July 2017 suspended by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, over alleged gross misconduct and corrupt practices.
The party also noted that President Buhari, upon his return to the country from vacation in February, 2018, reinstated Prof. Yusuf while he was still being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The statement said: “The PDP invites Nigerians to note how the Presidency has continued to provide official cover for accused official, even without the slightest investigation of the allegations and sanction by both the Minister and the Governing Council.
“We ask: Why is the Presidency protecting an official of government openly indicted for corruption? What is the Presidency trying to conceal by ensuring that Prof. Yusuf remains the Executive Secretary after his indictment?”